A number of large fires are threatening the world’s largest tree.
The tree is known as General Sherman and it is found in the Sequoia National Park.
Currently, wildfires in the US state of California are covering over 7000 acres of land and are only about 2km from the Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park.
The good news is that Sequoia trees are very fire resilient and have evolved to thrive in fire conditions.
Their red bark has adapted to protect them from the heat. However, as the fires become more extreme, they can get past the tree’s defence.
Facts about General Sherman?
By volume, it is the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth and is estimated to be around 2,300 to 2,700 years old.
The General Sherman was named after the American Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman.
It is believed to be the largest currently living tree. However, it is not the largest recorded tree in history.
The Crannell Creek Giant, a coast redwood is estimated to have been 15-25% larger than the General Sherman tree by volume but it was cut down in the mid-1940s.
6 Responses
I like it
wow
Mean as thats cool hope it survives
why would they burn the biggest tree?
I am really wowed by this tree, but I just hope it survives as well as all the other trees in that park.
It would be cool having woolly mammoth again it just means we have to be careful in icy places